Greetings, !

For those in the Northern Hemisphere, may you delight in the Summer Solstice and the long summer days to follow. 

For all, an apology. Some of the contact emails included in the June 1st edition were incorrect. Here are the corrected ones:

• communications@naunitarians.org (to submit suggestions for improving our website, social media pages or mailings like the Compass, to submit announcements / news for publication, or to volunteer as Film Editor or other role on our Communications Team)
• memberservices@naunitarians.org (to volunteer to lead a regional group or request to join an existing group, to ask membership questions or share suggestions for promoting NAUA to prospective members)
• nomcom@naunitarians.org (to suggest someone for consideration to be nominated to the NAUA board)

Image Credit: Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

NAUA summarizes our values, which emerged during the Renaissance and flourished during the Enlightenment, as FREEDOM, REASON, and TOLERANCE, and considers them fundamental for any society to demonstrate respect for the worth and dignity of every person.
Let's reflect on our values prior to the fall Summit.

REASON: Every person has the capacity to reason and consider the empirical evidence before them in their pursuit of truth and understanding. Ideological dictums and religious dogmas should not be imposed upon them.

“Learning never exhausts the mind."  Leonardo da Vinci

“The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.”  Albert Einstein

"To argue with a man who has renounced the use and authority of reason, and whose philosophy consists in holding humanity in contempt, is like administering medicine to the dead, or endeavoring to convert an atheist by scripture." Thomas Paine

“Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of blind-folded fear.” Thomas Jefferson

Note: If you've written a poem, designed a work of art, or taken a photograph that might be a good fit for this focus on our values, please consider emailing it to jmkrettek@gmail.com. If we aren't able to use it here, we may request your permission to share it on our Facebook page or via other communications. Thanks!

Some members of the Board are completing their terms, and the Nominating Committee is interested in identifying individuals who would like to join the Board. 

Please let the Nominating Committee know if you are interested in assuming a role on the Board, or if you know of someone you believe would make a meaningful contribution as a Board Member. 

Kindly direct any questions or suggestions for potential candidates to the following email: nomcom@naunitarians.org 

Current NAUA Regional Groups:

Pacific Northwest: NW Washington state, SW British Columbia
Regional Leaders: Lorraine Day and Mike Slocom of Bellingham, WA

Central Canada: Eastern British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba
Regional Leaders: Odell Havsdottir (Teresa Klostreich) and Kent Klostreich of Winnipeg, Manitoba

Wisconsin
Regional Leaders: Ed Hudak and TBD

North and South Carolina
Regional Leaders: Mike Long and Lincoln Baxter of Charlotte, NC

New England: Maine, NH, Vermont, Massachusetts, RI, CT
Regional Leaders: Rev. Terry Cummings (CT), Judi Durham (CT), Rev. Stephen Sousa (MA)

If you live in one of those regions and haven't requested that NAUA "not share" your contact information, your name and email address have (or will be) provided to the regional co-leader(s). You should soon receive a communication about joining the group. If you do not receive a communication by the end of July but are interested in joining, please contact memberservices@naunitarians.org.

The Member Services Committee is still looking for co-leaders for other regions. The groups will begin on Zoom, so a little experience with Zoom would be helpful, but not essential. We will train anyone who does not feel confident. If interested, please contact NAUA Member Services at memberservices@naunitarians.org and include your location.

Your Are Invited!

Call for Volunteer Zoom Hosts

If you would like to help us plan or host the Summit, we'd love to hear from you. In particular, we are seeking technical volunteers to serve as Zoom hosts during the Summit. Training will be provided. Please email us at summit@naunitarians.org to let us know of your interest in any of these areas.

Thanks, and see you at the Summit! 

Note: There will be no International Alliance or NAUA Academy workshop during the month of June. 

The NAUA Academy Advisory Board will be meeting over the summer to plan an engaging and stimulating 2025-26 season. If you have ideas for topics or suggestions of speakers you would like to hear at an Academy Session, please email your ideas to academy@naunitarians.org.

Our next gathering takes place on the first Wednesday of July, from 4:00 - 5:30 PM PDT / 7:00 - 8:30 PM EDT. We’ll be discussing the liberal values of Freedom, Reason and Tolerance.

The NAUA Conversation / Discussion CIRCLE has no limits on participation and is open to all NAUA members and friends. Join in creating a vibrant, supportive space for dialogue and reflection.

The zoom link is: https://tinyurl.com/naua-circle

For questions or to register for reminders, email us at circles@naunitarians.org. The CIRCLE will be facilitated by a member of the NAUA Board of Trustees. We hope to see you there!

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Note: The Forum Circle, which is led by Mark Reimers and requires a reservation, is taking a break over the summer. Twice monthly meetings will resume in the fall. 

Once this is completed, other volunteers then link the video to the website and social media. We are not looking for professional editing, just enough to reflect the quality of the recording. If you have time, interest and a capacity to learn, this can be a rewarding commitment for both you and NAUA. Please email communications@naunitarians.org to chat with someone from the communications team.